Friday, November 16, 2007

Last weekend there was the cutest picture in the Moline Dispatch of a little blonde girl enjoying the beautiful weather at Ben Butterworth Parkway. Did anyone happen to notice what she was clutching in her tiny fist? A Wonder Bread sack of bread! I’m guessing that this was not a lunch, but a {{gasp}} treat for the ducks. Those ‘No Feeding The WaterFowl’ signs must have been lost on her.

When I read about the new signs going up it saddened me because feeding the ducks on Ben Butterworth Parkway was something we always enjoyed as kids. I read all the reasons why this needed to be done and frankly I think it’s a load of crap. The mess on the bike path is an understandable gripe, but there are plenty of other places that could be designated as feeding areas.

“It is a tough issue for the city which realizes people have been coming to the parkway for years to feed the ducks. “But it is not right. What is right is to stop feeding them. It is best for those who use the parkway and the bike path, and best for the waterfowl, as well,” he said.”

There needs to be study on the affects on wildlife when their river banks are now miles of manicured lawn & paved bike paths, but I guess that’s not the point.